Ajax Resources (AQSE:AJAX) has entered a binding Exclusivity and Option Agreement with Western Metallica Resources to acquire 100% of Western Metallica, S.L., which owns the Nueva Celti Copper Project in Andalusia, Spain, the AQSE-listed natural resources investment company said.
Total consideration is set at $300,000, split between a non-refundable $10,000 option fee already paid, a further $90,000 cash on completion, and $200,000 in new Ajax shares priced on a ten-day average ahead of completion.
The consideration shares carry a four-month lock-up, followed by an orderly market disposal arrangement lasting until the first anniversary of completion.
Ajax has 60 days of exclusivity to complete due diligence, after which exercising the option contractually binds Western Metallica to complete, subject only to regulatory approvals.
Nueva Celti is a historic underground copper mine within the Ossa-Morena Metallogenic Belt, previously worked between 1902 and 1918 with selected ore grading above 5% copper.
More than 9,000 metres of historical and modern drilling, including work by Glencore's Asturiana de Zinc, has confirmed mineralisation continuing beneath the old workings, with Western Metallica identifying geological potential of 8 to 10 million tonnes grading 1.2% to 1.5% copper, though no Mineral Resource has yet been estimated.
Subject to completion, Ajax plans an immediate 3,000-metre drilling programme costing roughly €500,000, targeted to start in September or October, aimed at delineating a maiden JORC-compliant resource.
"It is rare to find a project that combines historical production, extensive technical work, successful modern validation drilling, an existing exploration permit, excellent infrastructure and the ability to move immediately into drilling," said chief executive Ippolito Ingo Cattaneo.
The deal complements Ajax's South American portfolio, including the Macacha copper-silver project in Argentina and the Pereira Velho gold project in Brazil, both advancing toward resource definition by year-end.
